


mask on, fuck it, mask off

by fideliahoney



Series: step into my life [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Dance Instructor Lee Taeyong, Humor, M/M, Making Out, Meet-Cute, Yangyang is cute, antigen test, covid au??, does this even qualify as an au since covid is real??, donghyuck has a crush on TY, donghyuck is gay, its not about taeten tho sorry, lol, taeten are totally fucking, yanghyuck reign supreme
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:14:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28179693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fideliahoney/pseuds/fideliahoney
Summary: Donghyuck doesn’t even gag once while he is having his swab taken, and he kinda hopes the guy in the opposite testing booth notices, because he just pulled down his mask to reveal the most kissable lips Donghyuck has ever seen.(or: Hyuck meets Yangyang at a dance workshop under strict hygiene regulations.)
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Liu Yang Yang, Lee Taeyong/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten
Series: step into my life [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2073603
Comments: 11
Kudos: 145





	mask on, fuck it, mask off

**Author's Note:**

> basically I just got tested negative for covid two days ago (yay!) and now I’m watching 90’s love everyday in quarantine until I drive up to my parents’ house for christmas. I see a lot of potential with Donghyuck and Yangyang in the same unit, do you agree?
> 
> genuinely hope you enjoy this, it was very fun to write. stay healthy everyone <3 
> 
> (the title is exactly what you thought it was, the chorus of mask off by future. sorry not sorry)

When Donghyuck signed up for one of NCT U’s live dance classes in February, he obviously was not expecting a global pandemic to fuck up one of the most exciting days of his life so far.

Back then, he went through the tedious application process filled with naïve hope and joy: first, he worked through an online multiple choice test, which upon completion admitted him into the next stage of the application, namely submitting a video of himself dancing. Donghyuck is not a professional dancer by any means, but he is still pretty decent, and he worked particularly hard to impress the jury. When he received the email on February 25th requesting him to confirm his spot in the fall class (he may have screamed for 30 seconds straight), the coronavirus was already all over the news. Still, no one expected lockdown and social distancing measures to last until fucking October, October 10th to be precise, today’s date, the day that Donghyuck is finally standing in a queue in front of SM Studios, waiting to dance in a class led by his idols and long-term celebrity crush Lee Taeyong. Except that he is not going to dance.

Apparently, management decided that hosting an actual dance class would pose too much risk of infection, and they were probably right. A room filled with thirty people plus TY and Ten, the two members of the iconic duo NCT U, sweating and dancing and breathing and spreading germs all over clearly was not the smartest idea. Instead of blowing the whole thing off though, the company decided to change the concept: there would still be a live class, but the participants were assigned seats across the room with at least six feet distance, and asked to stay seated and take notes while TY and Ten showed the choreography and carefully talked them through the steps.

At least that is what Donghyuck learnt from the last email he received a couple of weeks ago.

His eyes take in the imposing glass front of the building in front of him and he thinks, _impressive_. He also thinks of the countless YouTube videos he watched of Ten and Taeyong exiting the building ever since Baby Don’t Stop was released in 2018 and he can’t suppress a small shiver of excitement. Donghyuck is not the type to fantasize about his idols romantically, nor does he get nervous around people he admires. But today he is going to meet Lee Taeyong for God’s sake, so he allows himself a surge of fanboy giddiness.

Then suddenly he is at the front of the queue and a young woman in an SM Studios sweater is holding out her hand to check his ID.

“Lee Donghyuck? All right, you are going to exit the main entrance hall to the left, into a hallway where you will find two test stations. We expect you to take an antigen test, it only takes about twenty minutes for the results to show. If you test negative, you will be admitted into the studio. Please keep your mask on at all times and respect social distancing rules, okay?”

He nods enthusiastically.

“Great! Have fun!”

She probably smiles at him, but Donghyuck can’t really tell because of the mask covering her face. The tone of her voice sounds light though, so he smiles underneath his own mask, grabs his ID and enters the building.

The entrance hall is less glamourous than he expected it to be, but then again, it’s mainly a dance company. NCT U are the only idols signed under SM who also sing and rap, most other dancers either teach or appear as extras in music videos and various external productions. Donghyuck still soaks in every snippet of conversation among the staff members and every detail of the neat, modern architecture before he walks down the hallway on the left like he was instructed to do. Pretty exciting.

He has never been tested for covid before, so the process is new to him. It seems easy enough though, just a quick throat swab, the medical assistant explains. Donghyuck feels confident about this and patiently waits for the assistant to prepare his swab. Meanwhile, the guy in the other booth on the opposite side doesn’t look so chill: big brown eyes flit around nervously, and he keeps touching his black beret. Bold fashion choice, Donghyuck muses, but he could be pretty cute. Also seems to be around his age, if he’s guessing correctly?

Further assumptions are effectively interrupted by the medical assistant, who crinkles his eyes in encouragement as he holds up a long cotton swab.

“Could you please remove your mask quickly so that I can take the sample?”

“Yeah, sure”, Donghyuck chirps and does as he is told.

He is still looking over the assistant’s shoulder with zero shame, trying to catch a glimpse of the beret guy and wondering if he will be okay. Their eyes meet for an instant and he doesn’t look like he is panicking anymore, which is good, and then there is dry cotton at the back of Donghyuck’s throat.

To his immense satisfaction, he doesn’t even gag once while he is having his swab taken, and he kinda hopes the guy in the opposite testing booth notices, because he just pulled down his mask to reveal the most kissable lips Donghyuck has ever seen. Like, wow? Definitely cute. They make eye contact again and the guy smiles at him, which Donghyuck is yearning to reciprocate, but then he is asked to pull his mask back over his face and the moment is gone. He focuses on the man in front of him.

“Your results will be ready in about twenty minutes. Please take a seat over there or wait in the patio at the back end of the hallway, all right?”

“Yes, thank you!”

Donghyuck is ushered over to the area where a couple of chairs are scattered sadly alongside an empty wall, most of them already occupied by other participants of the dance class, and he decides against sitting down. Instead, he would like to talk to the cute stranger, but he is nowhere to be seen. Odd, but okay. It’s not like he is looking for a flirt anyway – while Donghyuck is confident in his sexuality, he has met enough guys who were suddenly out of their depth when faced with his playful advances. He doesn’t throw around his affections lightly anymore, but his inquisitive nature still leads him to engage strangers in conversation with casual ease. Maybe there will be an opportunity to chat later. He makes his way to the patio, but stops in front of a huge picture frame full of mid-performance photos. Sweet, he might be able to spot Taeyong somewhere if he looks closely! There are handwritten texts matching up with the photos as well, and Donghyuck starts reading, patio already forgotten, until...

“Lee Donghyuck?” a voice calls.

He snaps out of his daze and sees a woman with a clipboard looking around the hallway close to the testing booths.

“Yes, ma’am!”

Lifting his arm to make himself more visible, Donghyuck walks over to her. She assesses him quickly and writes something down.

“Perfect. Your results were negative, so please take the elevator up to the third floor where you will find the studio. You were assigned seat number twenty-three, make yourself comfortable there, but please don’t move around too much and remember to keep your mask on as the antigen tests sometimes show a false negative. I hope you will still enjoy the class to the fullest!”

“I appreciate that, thank you!” Donghyuck replies with another invisible smile. His earlier excitement is slowly returning and he wonders about the experience awaiting him. Will he be disappointed? He considers the pros and cons of taking notes vs. videos on his phone during the elevator ride and concludes that a mixture of both will probably do the deal. Then he steps out into the hallway on the third floor and hears Dream in a Dream, one of Ten’s solo singles, sounding from the open door to his right.

Instantly, a grin spreads across his face. This is gonna be good, he can feel it now.

“Hello everyone!”

With a confident greeting, Donghyuck enters the room and gives a small wave to no one in particular, noticing how neither Ten nor Taeyong are present yet. The people already seated seem to like his spirit, almost everyone turning their heads with an answering “hey”, and his mood is dampened only slightly upon realizing that seat number twenty-three is the one furthest at the back. The seat closest to him is occupied by no one other than beret guy.

“Oh, it’s you!”

His big eyes light up and Donghyuck tightens his fist in a subtle display of victory, because being recognized definitely counts as a success.

“Yeah, hi!” he beams, not bothering to play it cool since the thought of learning dance moves from fucking Lee Taeyong in a couple of minutes makes him kinda high. Still not high enough to inhibit his socializing skills of course, so he starts talking immediately after sitting down.

“You looked pretty nervous right before the test, I was a little worried about you down there.”

“Oh, really?”

(Donghyuck curses inaudibly at the injustice of only seeing half of the guy’s face, because his surprised eyes look like a promise of extreme cuteness. Donghyuck also misses his pretty mouth.)

“Well, it was my first test, so I guess I was nervous.” He laughs cutely. “My name is Yangyang, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you Yangyang, my name is Donghyuck.”

They both pause to grin under their masks at his polite introduction, then Yangyang speaks up again.

“Are you excited for the class?”

“Honestly, I don’t know if this concept works for me. I mean yeah, of course I am excited! But I’m not sure if I’ll just get antsy when I see a new dance move I’m not allowed to try, you know?”

“Oh my God, I feel you”, Yangyang sighs. “I’m quite a big fan of Ten and I just want to dance _with_ him, same rhythm and all, not repeat the steps by myself at home. I don’t know… I guess it’s cool that they haven’t blown this off completely. Also kinda cool to know I’ve tested negative.”

He’s speaking fast, his voice is a little breathy with excitement, but that just makes listening all the more engaging. Donghyuck decides on the spot that he likes him.

“True, that’s really good to know actually. You could basically make out with anyone in this room and feel completely safe for once.”

Yangyang laughs again and Donghyuck throws in a spontaneous wink, but then the whole room _ooooohhhhs_ and _aaaahhhhs_ because finally, Ten and Taeyong have arrived. A member of staff recites a quick disclaimer on how they were both tested negative yesterday and the company agreed to let them appear without masks as long as a six foot distance can be guaranteed, and then Ten and Taeyong take over.

There really is some sort of gravitational pull own to someone who knows they are famous, Donghyuck notices. The two idols work the room like magic, smiling and waving and saying their greetings, and everyone just hangs on their lips. (He honestly wouldn’t mind hanging on Taeyong’s lips in a more literal sense either, because that man looks even more beautiful in real life than on the screen of his phone, but that’s just a side note.) Then Ten apologizes for not being able to shake anyone’s hand, but promises that they will make up for it by giving an energetic performance, and they take up position. Donghyuck holds his breath.

It is mesmerizing, the way they are completely in sync but still perform true to their individual style of movement, and Donghyuck almost doesn’t catch the sound of Yangyang’s voice, but then the other repeats the same sentence again with mild wonder.

“Oh my God, they are totally fucking.”

“What?” Dongyhuck hisses, leaning forward, and Yangyang turns to look him straight in the eyes.

“They are fucking. Oh my God, they totally are!”

A quick laugh bursts out of Donghyuck’s mouth, but then he slaps his hand over his mask and prays to the God he doesn’t really believe in that no one noticed them over the booming sound of the music. That was unexpected.

“Watch them dance and tell me they’re not fucking”, Yangyang whisper-shouts with a single raised eyebrow, and it’s really hard not to crack up again.

“I’m serious!” he urges and Donghyuck nods, focusing his attention back on the two dancers at the front of the studio.

Yangyang kind of has a point, he thinks. There is a certain chemistry between the two men as they mirror each other and slide into every position perfectly. Donghyuck is not even paying attention to the steps he wants to learn anymore, but there will be time for that later. The music stops and as they bow down, Ten places his hand on the small of Taeyong’s back, subtle but still uncalled-for, and when they straighten back up, Taeyong smiles at his partner fondly, both just a little out of breath, and yeah okay they are fucking.

While everyone else is erupting into cheers and enthusiastic applause, Donghyuck catches Yangyang’s gaze and gives him an eyeroll and a thumbs-up to signal that he was probably right.

“Right?” Yangyang shouts and interrupts his own clapping to make a rude gesture that definitely symbolizes penetration, and yup, Donghyuck just consciously thought of the word penetration. He trusts that his giggles will be swallowed up by the noise around them. Another part of his brain remarks that he would prefer his giggles to be swallowed up by Yangyang’s mouth instead, and Donghyuck has to admit that giddy really is a great look on the other man. His eyes are literally sparkling and his beret got tipped just slightly to one side, somehow accentuating his strong brows and overall beautiful features even more.

Fuck, Donghyuck thinks.

His budding infatuation doesn’t die down during the next three hours, quite the opposite actually. While Ten and Taeyong carefully explain the choreography, Donghyuck’s eyes are consistently drawn towards Yangyang, looking at him as he takes notes with his forehead wrinkled in concentration. Cute, he thinks, immediately followed by: fuck. He tries not to dwell on it for too long but instead focus on his progress as a dancer, because that’s why he applied for this in the first place, right?

A couple of times, the two idols even invite the class to get up and perform a single move or a quick series of steps in front of their respective chairs.

“Do you have any questions on how to execute that one properly?” Taeyong then asks in his soft, pleasant voice, or he says something like “It’s very important to keep your right knee slightly bent, so you don’t overstrain the joint.”

Donghyuck likes listening to him, and while it isn’t as fulfilling as a full-on dance class would be, it still feels amazing to just practice selected moves under Taeyong’s observation and expertise.

He also admittedly likes watching Yangyang dance. The other man moves with elegance (good control over his angles and his legs especially, Donghyuck asserts) but he also looks like he is enjoying himself, which makes watching him all the more worthwhile. Once he trips over the leg of his chair and completely loses his balance, but instead of being embarrassed, Yangyang just laughs and cracks a joke to Donghyuck about secretly hoping for Ten to catch him in his _strong dancer arms_.

The entire experience is honestly more informative than he could have hoped for under the current circumstances, and also much more fun, but Donghyuck has a sneaking suspicion that the second part has nothing to do with SM’s strict hygiene regulations. By the end of the class, he is smiling so much that his cheeks are the part of his body that hurt the most.

“Thank you so much everyone, stay healthy!” Ten and Taeyong cheer in unison before bowing down one final time and exiting the studio through a side door. Everyone applauds wildly as they leave, including Donghyuck and Yangyang, who both start whistling through their teeth at the same time, then turn to each other and nod in mutual recognition before cracking up.

Once the noise and excitement in the room die down, a member of the SM staff explains to the participants how they are going to exit the floor and the building (in groups of five, take the stairs and not the elevator so a six foot distance can be guaranteed). Granted, Donghyuck and Yangyang both end up in the final group, and conversation just flows easily between the two of them on the way out.

“Fuck, Ten is so cool!” Yangyang beams, bouncing up and down next to Donghyuck. “Do you think I would get along with him? Personally, I mean. Not like, as dancers.”

Donghyuck snickers.

“I don’t know Ten, but you seem like you’d get along with anyone, so I’m guessing yeah?”

“So do you, though”, Yangyang replies.

“True. I’d probably get along with Ten even better if I’m honest.”

“What the fuck? No you wouldn’t?”

Yangyang laughs and Donghyuck’s stomach feels a little funny. He knows he wasn’t looking for a flirt earlier, but he is definitely up for it now. He also remembers scanning the hallway for Yangyang right after the test without success and decides to just ask him about it.

“Where did you disappear to after getting tested, by the way? I was kind of looking for a chat, but I didn’t see you anywhere.”

“Oh really? Wow, you’re so nice. Um, I actually just needed to piss real bad and got lost looking for a bathroom. I mean, I found a pretty secluded one eventually, and then I just hung out in the patio by myself.”

At the word piss, Doghyuck’s own bladder is making itself felt very clearly.

“Hey, that’s amazing! Do you remember where the bathroom was? I kind of need to go, too.”

“Lol, of course”, Yangyang says, amused, and Donghyuck can’t help but mock him a little.

“Oh, sorry, did we suddenly enter an online chat forum, lol?”

“No, this is the entrance hall lol, you idiot?”

Surprised at the comeback, Donghyuck wheezes and then chokes on his tongue as Yangyang grabs his hand to pull him towards the empty hallway on the opposite side. None of the staff seem to mind, he notes, relieved, and then Yangyang is pointing towards a door.

“That’s the bathroom. I’ll come and wash my hands, if you don’t mind.”

“Disgusting”, Donghyuck retorts, but holds the door open for him.

He chooses to make use of the closed stall at the back, because he doesn’t really feel like showing off his private parts (yet?). As Donghyuck reemerges, his eyes instantly meet Yangyang’s in the mirror above the sink. He has his mask pulled down and Donghyuck is once again struck by the beauty of his full face and the plumpness of his lips.

“I’m assuming this is okay since we both got tested negative?” Yangyang asks cautiously.

“Yeah, I’m assuming you’re right”, Donghyuck says and then pulls down his own mask before stepping forward to wash his hands.

When he looks back up in the mirror, Yangyang, now standing behind him, is still watching his reflection closely. Very interesting. Donghyuck decides to push his luck a little.

“Hey, are you checking me out?”

Yangyang grins. “Have been for hours, actually.”

_Jackpot_. Donghyuck can feel his heart rate spiraling upwards as he turns around. Once they are face to face, he sees Yangyang’s gaze immediately zeroing in on his own lips and he pokes his tongue out just a little, breath quickening. Their eyes meet again and then they kinda just both lean forward at the same time until their mouths press together and Donghyuck thinks, _yeah_.

It’s been months since he last kissed someone, because being a responsible single during a global pandemic can be lonely as fuck. But even if he got laid yesterday, he figures, this would still feel amazing. Yangyang’s lips are soft and he is moving against Donghyuck with an insistence that shows how much he clearly enjoys this. Donghyuck grabs the back of his neck to pull him closer, a move to which Yangyang responds by pushing his hips into the edge of the sink more firmly. Their tongues brush and they both sigh into the kiss before pulling away for air.

“Damn”, Yanygyang breathes out, their foreheads still touching, and Donghyuck snickers, because that’s a really stupid thing to say after a kiss, but he kind of feels him.

“You’re lucky you’re hot with all the dumb shit you say”, he teases.

Yangyang shuts him up by kissing him again, and Donghyuck doesn’t mind one bit. In fact, he thinks he could keep making out with Yangyang all day, and he wants to know what his hair looks like without the beret, and he wants to know if he has abs, and he wants to know if he feels satisfied with the dance class, and he wants to know if his friends are as funny as him, which is, all things considered, an awful lot to think about.

“As much as I don’t want to stop”, Yangyang murmurs against his lips, “we’re in this weird bathroom and it makes me a little uncomfortable. Do you feel that?”

“Yeah”, Donghyuck says, and when Yangyang takes a step back, they are both smiling at each other with flushed cheeks and a sudden hint of shyness.

“Well, um”, Yangyang starts, fiddling with his beret again, “I’ve got the keys to the dance studio I usually train in, but it’s mostly empty these days, so I was thinking of going over the choreography there. You could join me, if you want?”

Donghyuck cocks his head and Yangyang’s eyes widen.

“I didn’t, shit, I don’t mean this as, let’s go and have sex! Wow, sorry, I actually want to give the choreography a try and I think it would be cool to do that together. Also, I wanna hang out with you. Is that too forward?”

Grinning, Donghyuck shakes his head.

“No, I think that sounds amazing.”

“Sick”, Yangyang says, and he sounds a little relieved. “It’s a shame you have to put that mask back on, I don’t want to stop looking at your face.”

“What the fuck, you’re so cheesy!” Donghyuck taunts, but his smile gives him away. Not like he hasn’t just thought the exact same thing. It is weird, he muses, how Lee Taeyong somehow isn’t the most exciting person he has met today anymore.

When they are both covered up again, Yangyang holds out his hand and looks at Donghyuck expectantly.

“Ready?” he asks.

“Hell yeah”, Donghyuck says, and Yangyang beams as he links their pinkies and pulls him through the door and then they kind of don’t let go. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading. comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!
> 
> (they totally make out in the empty studio after practice by the way. also Yangyang is so pretty, wtf? I'm starting to think that yanghyuck might evolve into one of my favorite nct ships. like if you agree hehe)


End file.
